Eden
A learned and a happy ignoranceDivided meFrom all the vanity,From all the sloth, care, pain, and sorrow that advanceThe madness and the miseryOf men. No error, no distraction ISaw soil the earth or overcloud the sky.
I knew not that there was a serpent's sting,Whose poison shedOn men, did overspreadThe world; nor did I dream of such a thingAs sin, in which mankind lay dead.They all were brisk and living wights to me,Yea, pure and full of immortality.
Joy, pleasure, beauty, kindness, glory, love,Sleep, day, life, light,Peace, melody, my sight,My ears and heart did fill and freely move.All that I saw did me delight.The Universe was then a world of treasure,To me an universal world of pleasure.
Unwelcome penitence was then unknown,Vain costly toys,Swearing and roaring boys,Shops, markets, taverns, coaches, were unshown;So all things were that drowned my joys:No thorns choked up my path, nor hid the faceOf bliss and beauty, nor eclipsed the place.
Only what Adam in his first estate,Did I behold;Hard silver and dry goldAs yet lay under ground; my blessed fateWas more acquainted with the oldAnd innocent delights which he did seeIn his original simplicity.
Those things which first his Eden did adornMy infancyDid crown. SimplicityWas my protection when I first was born.Mine eyes those treasures first did seeWhich God first made. The first effects of LoveMy first enjoyments upon earth did prove;
And were so great, and so divine, so pure,So fair and sweet,So true; when I did meetThem here at first, they did my soul allure,And drew away my infant feetQuite from the works of men; that I might seeThe glorious wonders of the Deity.
Words in this poem
- distraction n.
- The act of distracting; a drawing apart; separation. [L. distractio: cf. F. distraction.]
- overcloud v. t.
- To cover or overspread with clouds; to becloud; to overcast.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Eden is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Traherne, 1636?-1674, from the original manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #61586; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Traherne, Eden, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/eden.html, id L13295.
Form and metre
Eden is 49 lines in 7 stanzas of 7 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABBABCC, in 2 of the 7 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AB-A-BB ignoranceA · meB · vanity · advanceA · misery · iB · skyB
- 2 ABBAB-- stingA · shedB · overspreadB · thingA · deadB · me · immortality
- 3 ABBABCC loveA · lightB · sightB · moveA · delightB · treasureC · pleasureC
- 4 ABBABCC unknownA · toysB · boysB · unshownA · joysB · faceC · placeC
- 5 ABBAB-- estateA · beholdB · goldB · fateA · oldB · see · simplicity
- 6 A--A-BB adornA · infancy · simplicity · bornA · see · loveB · proveB
- 7 ABBAB-- pureA · sweetB · meetB · allureA · feetB · see · deity
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A learned and a happy ignorance | 10 | ··˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Divided me | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| From all the vanity, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| From all the sloth, care, pain, and sorrow that advance | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| The madness and the misery | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Of men. No error, no distraction I | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Saw soil the earth or overcloud the sky. | 10 | ·········· |
| I knew not that there was a serpent's sting, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whose poison shed | 4 | ·/˘· |
| On men, did overspread | 6 | ······ |
| The world; nor did I dream of such a thing | 10 | ·········· |
| As sin, in which mankind lay dead. | 8 | ····//·· |
| They all were brisk and living wights to me, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yea, pure and full of immortality. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Joy, pleasure, beauty, kindness, glory, love, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Sleep, day, life, light, | 4 | ···· |
| Peace, melody, my sight, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| My ears and heart did fill and freely move. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| All that I saw did me delight. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The Universe was then a world of treasure, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| To me an universal world of pleasure. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Unwelcome penitence was then unknown, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| Vain costly toys, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Swearing and roaring boys, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Shops, markets, taverns, coaches, were unshown; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| So all things were that drowned my joys: | 9 | ······˘·· |
| No thorns choked up my path, nor hid the face | 10 | ·········· |
| Of bliss and beauty, nor eclipsed the place. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Only what Adam in his first estate, | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Did I behold; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Hard silver and dry gold | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As yet lay under ground; my blessed fate | 10 | ········˘· |
| Was more acquainted with the old | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And innocent delights which he did see | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/···· |
| In his original simplicity. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| Those things which first his Eden did adorn | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| My infancy | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Did crown. Simplicity | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Was my protection when I first was born. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Mine eyes those treasures first did see | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which God first made. The first effects of Love | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| My first enjoyments upon earth did prove; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And were so great, and so divine, so pure, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| So fair and sweet, | 4 | ···· |
| So true; when I did meet | 6 | ······ |
| Them here at first, they did my soul allure, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And drew away my infant feet | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Quite from the works of men; that I might see | 10 | ·········· |
| The glorious wonders of the Deity. | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.